Pocket vector



Feb 259 3936.,

' L. P. MENDENHALL POCKET VECTOR Filed May 16, 1934 Mom/wg I Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POCKET VECTOR Lewis P. Mendenhall, Dover, N. J.

Application May 16, 1934, Serial No. 725,917

5 Claims. (Cl. 33-92) 'Ihls invention relates to pocket vectors of such a nature and structure that they comprise two arms pivoted together at their ends at a desired angle which may be a right angle, or :at a smaller or more obtuse angle of pivot, for certain purposes. The edges of the said pivoted arms are marked to indicate suitable scales which may often be found desirable to be built upon varying units of measurement; as for example, the scales on one edge of the arm dividing the inch or other primary unit, into sixteenths, while those of the opposite edge may be divided into twentieths, the units chosen depending upon the calculations to be made. Y

It is a further purpose of my improved structure to provide an hypotenuse bar adjustably connected with these arms by pivoted sleeves slidable upon the arms and bar of the triangular frame, and thereby maintain the continued relation between said arms.

Another object of my invention contemplates slidable sleeves above mentioned, and having transparent faces as of glass to permit reading the scale of the frame arms through such face of the sleeve. The other plates of the sleeve will usually be of metal and solid, this for the reason that such metal alfords suitable support for the mounted pivots. Y

My improved calculator is especially intended for use by users who may slide the sleeves along the arms as desired, and thereby determine by calculation the relative distances between points on scales which are made effective b-y the move- .ment of the sleeve edges on the several arms. Such use may be made of my structure by carpenters, plumbers, electrical workers who may use several units such as volts, amperes, etc., to be read on the scales; engineers, surveyors, draftsmen, contractors, etc., as will be later explained.

While the ends of thev arms may be hinged t0- gether thereby permitting a resulting angle of ,a certain value, the three arms may be swung on their pivots suitable to enable the said arms to be folded into substantially parallel relation, and result in a compact, though connected, elongated pocket instrument. f y

With the above and other objects in view, my invention includes the following novel features and details of construction, to be recited in the appended claims, to be hereinafter more fully described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in Which,- Y

Figure l lis a side elevation of the arms of the Figure 5 is a detail elevation of a modificationv of my device showing the hinged arms pivoted together at an angle other than that of 90,-and

Figure 6 is a perspective detail shown from the bottom edge of the base arm of Fig. 5, adjacent the hinge parts of said arm.

As a means of illustrating my improved pocket vectors, I have disclosed as the preferred embodiment of my invention, a base arm 5 and a vertical arm 6 both of which may be more or less conventionally polygonal in cross section, and manufactured of usual material which will desirably be rectangular and may comprise a base bar of wood 4 for supporting a thin upper plate 3 of material, such as celluloid which serves Well for a surface to receive the numerals forming the -scales used.

These arms or blades 5 and 6 are hinged adjacent their angular pivot upon a pin ll upon which short metal blades 35 swing, and the latter secured by screws 36 upon the inner edges 3l of such arms, and so mounted that the said pin Il will be spaced from the ends of the arms a distance substantially equalling the Width of each said arm. A latch for detachably holding said arms 5 and 6 in angular position, as shown in Fig. 1, comprises a metal blade which is somewhat yielding .and spring-like, is designated by I2, and comprises one end secured to the outer edge 38 of arm 5 by a screw 39 as shown, and the opposite end 40 perforated at 4l to receive therein a p-in I3 extending out from the end 24 of arm 6.

The adjusting feature of my invention is of more than ordinary importance, and is shown prominently in the drawing, by the slidable connection of the hypothenuse bar l tol both arms 5 and 6, by the polygonal sleeves 8, 9, and i6, each of which is elongated and tubular as the term implies, and which Will later be explained in detail. metals such as copper, brass, aluminum, hard rubber, or sometimes of a preferred composition. The sleeve I6 mounts the bar l at its lower end upon the arm 5, while sleeves 8 :and 9 are mounted upon the arm 6 and bar l, respectively. The

These sleeves may be made of certain latter sleeves are then pivoted at I0 together, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

Each of these sleeves has the general construction which I have found best adapted for slidable movement on the arms, and which comprises usually metal walls for three sides, the latter being integral and serving to provide for the sleeve, a bottom surface or plate, Whose transverse edges are bent in parallel normal to the said plate and then bent inwardly of the sleeve in parallelism but spaced from the side walls, at I8, and shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The spaced and inwardly bent edges I8 will thus exert a flexible pressure, against the outer sides of the arms inserted in said sleeves. A further means for causing pressure of the portions I8 against the arms may comprise a narrow metal strip 42 of limited length and welded or soldered upon the bent portions I8 in a direction parallel with the length of the arm within the sleeve, and having its ends bent down into the space 43, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The upper or transparent face o-f each sleeve may be of glass or of clear Celluloid which is designated in Fig. 3 by numeral I9 for the sleeves 8 and 9; and by 23 for sleeve I6 mounted on the base 5. These transparent faces of the sleeves are secured in position upon the bent portions I8 by having their lateral edges tucked under the narrow metal strips 42 as shown in the said figures.

Connection is made between the sleeve I6 slidably mounted on the base 5, and the lower end of the bar 1, by a hinge mechanism comprising a perforated narrow plate I4 mounted xedly on the inner edge of the bar, by screws I5 and adjacent the lower end of said bar, the said plate bearing an integral tubular ear 44 for receiving therethrough a pin. member 45 having at one end means for receiving therein a screw I1, as shown in Fig. 4. The opposite end of the member 45 has a headed portion 46 which is flxedly secured to the bottom face of the sleeve I6 and adjacent the lateral edge of the latter. Rotatable adjustment of the arm 5 relative to the bar 1 is afforded by rotation of the member 45 in the ear 44. The sleeve I6 may therefore, slide nearly the full length of the armv 5.

Relative angular movement between the arm 6 and bar 1 is however, provided for by pivoting of the sleeve 8 upon the sleeve 9, as shown in the View in Fig. 3 in somewhat larger scale. Such hinge movement on the pivot III requires a small sleeve 2| xed by welding to one lateral edge of the sleeve 9, and the pivot I9 has headed portion 33 welded to the lower face of the sleeve 8, the pivot I0 `being inserted through the sleeve 2|. The opposite end 20 of the pivot I0 has an` inner surface screw-threaded for reception of the external screw threads of the screw 22. The sleeve 2| may therefore, rotate about the pivot I0.

The construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, is a. form usually preferred for most uses, and includes the hinged connection at I I between bars or arms 5 and 6 intended to be latched at an angle of However, I have shown a modification of such angular connection in Figs. 5 and 6, in which between arms 25 and 26, an. acute angle is provided by pivot 21, the inclined edges of the arms at 28 making such modicatiofn feasible. This angle may however be 90 by varying the inclination of the edges.

A suitable latch is provided for unopening the connection between the ends of said arms 25 and 26 by swinging on the pivot 21 and holding the said ends closed when desired. To accomplish this, a metal plate is secured fixedly to the outer edge of each bar, and at the same time readily snapping the end edges 3| of one plate into lateral edges 32 of the blade as shown. These plates, one of which is designated as 29, are secured to the pivoted arms by screws 30. It is evident that by sliding the sleeve I6 to the pivot II, so that parts 6 and 1 will be substantially parallel, the arm 5 may then` be swung on the pivot I I into parallelism with the bar 1, and positioned above the latter for convenient storage or transportation.

My novel device has many uses, because of the utility afforded by the connection betweenV the base and vertical with the latch mechanism alforded between the arms at the pivot II, together with the hinged sleeves 8 and 9 between parts 6 and 1 and having the transparent faces for convenient reading of the scales on both parts, as well as the provision of the sleeve I 6 mounted on the arm 5 and also pivoted upon the plate I4 fixed to the lower end of the diagonal 1. This device has many uses even when the angle at I I is restricted to 90, though it is not intended to so limit its construction.

It is well understood that with this device, determining the length o-f the diagonal of a square or cube when an edge of the latter is known, is merely a matter of reading the scale on the hypothenuse 1, and will not be commented upon further here. It is also clear that plumbers or pipe litters may readily find the diameter of a pipe or tile by reading such scale to determine the capacity of a single pipe equivalent to that of `two other pipes.

It is well known that many electrical problems which must be considered by engineers, treat the relation of the square root of some value which is the sum of the squares of two other values that are readily known. When such relation exists, requiring the sum or the difference between such values, my improvement is very important and of great utility, for in very many cases the readings on a scale shown on the hypotenuse, is the desired result, or at least a factor of the desired value.

It will be understood that any unit of length may be used on the two arms, and that such units on the scales may designate many units of quantity. Some of these may be electrical units for reactance, impedance, watts, kilowatts and kilowatt-hours, volt amperes, kilovolt ampere-hours. These reading on the scales-more often the reading on the hypotenuse scale denoting the result desired, has wide application; as for example, adjustment of the readings on the arms 6 and 5, by shifting the sleeves 8 and I6, to the kilowatt hour meter, and the reactive kilovolt-hour, respectively, the desired kilovolt ampere-hour may be obtained from the reading on the scales shown on the bar 1 between the arms 6 and 5, and this reading is actually shown at the sleeve 9.

The provision of the sleeves with transparent faces afforded along the scales on the several arms and bar 5, 6, and 1, is especially serviceable for indicating the readings of fractional units, and showing the approaching movement of the sleeve edge to the near mark on the scale. This indication is by this structure much more delicate than has heretofore been possible by the attempted use of opaque sheets mounted on the scales. The yieldable pressure of the inwardly bent edges I8 on the arms is obviously useful.

The flexibility of the spring plate .I2 at the angle of the arms and 6, serves well to hold the arms in the relative position with the pin I3 in the perforation 4l, while the extended end. 34 of the plate affords means for manually pressing the latter down sufliciently to withdraw the pin from the perforation. In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a similar manual force will unlatch the plates 29 and 3l, to move the arms on the pivot.

Various changes may be made in minor details of construction, including relative proportions and form of p-arts, as well as their relative position; and I therefore, do not desire to limit myself to the particular disclosed structure'herein explained, or to the particular adaptation of such structure, but I expressly reserve the right to adapt it to such use as may be desirable and to make such modications as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thu's fully described my invention what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

l. A device of the class described comprising a base arm, a vertical arm pivotally connected to said base arm at a point spaced slightly from the end of each arm, a latch comprising spring members carried by the two arms, respectively, for engagement for yieldingly holding such arms in open angular position at the pivot, an hypothenuse bar having means for sldably connecting one end thereof to one of said arms, and tubular means having a transparent face for connecting the other end of said bar sldably upon the other arm, the inner surface of the said tube means having pressure exerting means for engaging the arm upon which the tube means is carried.

2. A device of the class described comprising a base arm, a vertical arm pivotally connected to said base arm at a point spaced slightly from one end of each arm, a latch adjacent the angle of the arms and external of the latter for yieldingly holding such arms in open angular position at the pivot, an hypothenuse bar having means for sldably and pivotally connecting the same to the vertical arm, and a polygonal sleeve having one transparent face and sldably mounted upon said base arm, an integral plate having parallel bent edges forming the other three enclosing walls of the polygonal sleeve, and the edges of said plate being bent inwardly of the sleeve but spaced from the side Walls to thereby exert an inward pressure against the edge of the said base arm, the other end of said bar being pivoted to said sleeve externally thereof.

3. A device of the class described comprising a base arm, a vertical arm pivotally connected to said base arm at a point spaced slightly from one end of each arm, a latch for yieldably holding such arms in open angular position at the pivot, a diagonal bar having one end pivotally connected with said base arm by means of a polygonal sleeve sldably movable upon the base arm and pivoted upon said bar, and polygonal sleeves pivoted together and mounted upon the vertical arm and said bar respectively, each said polygonal sleeve having integral bottom and side walls, the edges of side walls being bent inwardly and spacedly to increase friction of the sleeves on the arms or bar, and elongated metal strips mounted on the bent portions and welded thereto and providing their ends to tuck into the space between the edges and side walls, to pivot the vertical arm on said bar and permit slidable movement of the bar along the base arm.

4. A device of the class described comprising a base arm, a vertical arm pivotally connected to said base arm at a point spaced slightly from the end of each arm, a latch for holding yieldably such arms in open angular position at the pivot, a diagonal bar sldably movable on each said arm, a polygonal sleeve sldably mounted upon said base arm and pivoted upon one end of said bar, polygonal sleeves sldably mounted upon the vertical arm and said bar respectively, each of said sleeves comprising a flexible metallic sheet bent inwardly to form a bottom,`- and parallel sides, with their edges bent inwardly and downwardly toward the bottom to exert yielding lateral pressure against the members on which they are carried.

5. A device of the class described comprising a base arm, a vertical arm pivotally connected to said base arm at a point spaced slightly from the end of each arm, a latch for holding yieldably such arms in open angular position at the pivot, a diagonal bar sldably movable on each said arms, a polygonal sleeve sldably mounted upon said base arm and p-ivoted upon one end of said bar, polygonal sleeves sldably mounted upon the vertical arm and said bar respectively, and`pivoted one upon the other, to permit pivoting of the bar relative to either said arm, and slidable movement of the bar along the base arm, and each said sleeve comprising a vflexible metallic sheet bent inwardly to form a bottom, and parallel sides, with their edges bent inwardly and downwardly toward the bottom, and having a transparent face above the scale on its supporting member to permit reading scales through said face.

LEWIS P. MENDENHALL. 

